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 8-13-12
Inside Vegas - Steve Miller

Steve Miller is a former Las Vegas City Councilman. In 1991, the readers of the Las Vegas Review Journal voted him the "Most Effective Public Official" in Southern Nevada. Visit his website at: http://www.SteveMiller4LasVegas.com


UPDATE: All Rizzolo Appeals Denied
Obstacles cleared so HENRY v. RIZZOLO can race forward

INSIDE VEGAS by Steve Miller
AmeriicanMafiia.com
August 13, 2012

LAS VEGAS - On Thursday, August 9, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco filed a summary ORDER that threw out the second and third of three unsubstantiated appeals filed by members of the Rizzolo family.

In all three failed appeals, the petitioners falsely claimed the United States Federal Court made serious errors, and should be mandated to reverse its decisions thereby allowing convicted racketeer Rick Rizzolo to not be required to pay his court ordered bills.
 

On April 3, 2012, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court unceremoniously disposed of the first of the frivolous appeals -- Rick Rizzolo's appeal of an additional 9 month prison sentence and 24 month extension of parole for violating his conditions of supervised release that required he honor his plea agreement to pay all court ordered personal obligations including $9 million plus interest in restitution to beating victim Kirk Henry, and $1,734,000 million in back taxes skimmed from the now-defunct Crazy Horse Too strip club in Las Vegas.

The first Appeals Court judgment opened the door for Henry and the IRS to go after Rick's ex-wife Lisa Rizzolo and his stepmother Kimtran Rizzolo for conspiring to evade court ordered payment of Rick's personal debts, a clear violation of the Nevada Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act.

The Internal Revenue Service took no action when this opportunity arose possibly because the federal court gave the Henrys first right to collect debts from the Rizzolo's estate.

.
                                Stan Hunterton                                         Donald Campbell

But before Kirk and Amy Henry's attorneys Stan Hunterton and Donald Campbell, both former federal prosecutors, could seize the majority of Rick's ill-gotten assets hidden by Lisa and Kimtran in off shore accounts and annuities, attorneys for the Rizzolos filed expensive Ninth Circuit Court appeals to gum up the works. Both appeals filed last May were designed to stall Henry's ability to collect his court ordered restitution, and they did for an additional three months, but could have stalled the case much longer had the Ninth Circuit not acted expeditiously.

..
                     George Kalisis                                              Herb Sachs

On May 18, 2012, Lisa's attorney George Kelesis filed her 32 page APPEAL with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court.

In Lisa's appeal, Kalisis erroneously argued that Kirk Henry's Nevada Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act case belongs before the Nevada Supreme Court, not the United States Federal Court (Nevada Supreme Court Chief Justice Nancy M. Saitta is a close personal friend of the Rizzolos). That the City of Las Vegas screwed up the $45 million dollar sale of the Crazy Horse Too (to a twice bankrupt straw buyer with no funds). That Henry could have already been paid had the city not ruined the sale by revoking the club's liquor license (after dozens of beatings and robberies). That Lisa was not aware her ex-husband was involved in criminal activity during their entire marriage. And that Lisa's ex-husband did not personally break Kirk Henry's neck in 2001, so she and Rick should not be held personally responsible for Henry's injuries even though they were married at the time when one of their Crazy Horse Too managers broke Henry's neck over a disputed bar tab (see: http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/5-28-12_Inside_Vegas.html).

Then, on May 21, 2012, attorney Herb Sachs representing Rick's stepmother Kimtran filed another appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court to try to further stall the case (see: http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/5-21-12_Inside_Vegas.html).

Kimtran's appeal was in defiance of Senior U.S. Judge Philip M. Pro's April 19, 2012, ORDER stating: "IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Judgment is hereby entered in favor of Plaintiffs Kirk Henry and Amy Henry and against Defendants Rick Rizzolo and Kimtran Rizzolo. The transfers to Bart and Kimtran Rizzolo in the total amount of $1,052,996.03 were fraudulent pursuant to Nevada Revised Statutes § 112.180(1)(a) and therefore should be avoided. Defendants Rick Rizzolo and Kimtran Rizzolo shall make the necessary arrangements to transfer funds in the amount of $1,052,996.03 to Plaintiffs Kirk Henry and Amy Henry within thirty (30) days."

In Kimtran's appeal, Sachs erroneously argued; "Kim requests that the judgment should be amended as against her and should only be in the amount of money she actually received after the death of her husband from the assigned periodic payments (from the sale of the Philadelphia Crazy Horse Too) less amounts previously loaned to Fredrick Rizzolo and attorney fees paid on his behalf."

I.e., according to Sachs, Kirk Henry should be forced to pay Rick Rizzolo's loans and legal fees (Photo by Mike Christ). However, Sachs failed to present evidence of any loans Kimtran's late husband Bart Rizzolo made to his son, or attorney fees Bart paid on his son's behalf, so the appeals court denied her motion.

In spite of Kimtran's best efforts to obfuscate the whereabouts of the Philly money, attorneys for Henry located several accounts where Kimtran secretly stashed the $1,052,996.03, including a large Transamerica Life Insurance annuity.

During her October 12, 2011 deposition, Kimtran claimed to not understand the English language though she moved to the United States from Vietnam over thirty years ago and owns a local small business. Her answers when asked the location of the accounts in which she stashed the $1,052,996.03 included; "Don't remember," "What you mean?" "Don't know," "I need the blanket or something, I'm cold," "I don't understand really your question," "I don't have money now," "I spend it," "This is very uncomfortable chair," "Explain it," and "I don't understand."

Based on her deposition performance, on May 22, 2012, Judge Pro issued a WRIT OF EXECUTION ordering the U.S. Marshals Service to seize the assets of Kimtran including the Transamerica annuity.

The rest of Rick Rizzolo's ill-gotten fortune was stashed in the Cook Islands in Lisa's name, including an annuity worth $7.2 million, and $5 million cash Rick and Lisa swindled from a California bank.

On June 15, United States Marshals in Omaha, Nebraska served Transamerica a NOTICE OF SEIZURE. Transamerica refused to turn over the money and responded by filing a lawsuit against Kimtran and Rick claiming that Judge Pro cited the Nevada Uniform Fraudulent Transfers law, but failed to cite the federal law that permits such a seizure to take place.

Transamerica then filed a Motion for Leave to provide their attorneys time to prepare written briefs describing their concerns.

On August 8, 2012, U.S. Magistrate Judge Foley denied Transamerica's motion and advised them that their attorneys can present oral arguments at a hearing on August 21.
 
Full docket text for document 628:
ORDER denying [626] Motion for Leave to File. Transamerica may address the issues raised in their proposed Surreply [626-1] at oral argument on this matter, which is scheduled for August 21, 2012. Signed by Magistrate Judge George Foley, Jr on 8/08/2012.

The August 21 hearing is in preparation for a September 10 hearing to respond to Henry's motion to hold Kimtran in Civil Contempt for defying Judge Pro's orders if she has not released the Henry's funds by that time.
 
Full docket text for document 607:
ORDER that Kimtran Rizzolos Motion for a New Trial or in the Alternative, to Alter or Amend Judgment [587] is hereby DENIED. A hearing on Plaintiffs Motion for Order to Hold Defendant Kimtran Rizzolo in Civil Contempt [603] is set for Monday, September 10, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. in Courtroom 7C, in the United States District Court, District of Nevada, located at 333 S. Las Vegas Blvd., Las Vegas, Nevada, 89101. Signed by Judge Philip M. Pro on 6/21/12.

In the meantime, one of Kimtran's checking accounts held in Citybank was seized yielding $211,048.89 that was deposited into Henry's trust account.

If by August 21, Kimtran continues to defy the court and withhold funds that the court ordered be paid to the Henrys, despite Herb Sachs' best efforts, the court is expected to confirm to Transamerica's attorneys per federal statute that the funds held in Kimtran's annuity were obtained through fraudulent means, and order the funds be released to Henry. If so, the entire $3 million from the Philly Crazy Horse Too sale will have been transferred to the Henry's trust account leaving the Cook Islands accounts as fair game to pay Henry the balance he'll still be owed that totals around $7 million plus interest. If the Cook Islands accounts contain less than adequate liquid assets to satisfy debts to Henry and possibly the IRS, Lisa's real estate in Newport Beach and Las Vegas may be subject to seizure. Both homes were purchased during the Rizzolo's marriage, were community property, and are worth millions.

The Cook Islands accounts were established by "asset protection" attorney John Dawson, the brother of U.S. Judge Kent Dawson.

In 2006, Judge Dawson issued suspiciously light sentences to 15 Crazy Horse Too thugs without disclosing that his brother was making hundreds of thousands of dollars hiding the thug's boss' ill-gotten loot.

Judge Dawson was appointed for life by U.S. Senator Harry Reid whose two sons work for the same law firm as John Dawson. Reid's business partner Jay Brown was once the corporate agent for Rick Rizzolo, and in 2006 represented a straw buyer of the Crazy Horse Too at a Las Vegas City Council hearing.

MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/8-6-12_Inside_Vegas.html
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/4-23-12_Inside_Vegas.html
http://www.americanmafia.com/Inside_Vegas/1-16-12_Inside_Vegas.html
http://www.americanmafia.com/inside_vegas/11-21-11_Inside_Vegas.html
 



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